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Species
Three of the solar system's seven planets lie within the Sun's habitable zone (known as the "Life Belt") and are home to a variety of plants and animals, though not all have been fully documented yet. Taomar Taomar is the closest inhabited planet to the Sun, and the largest of the terrestrial worlds, covered in thick green jungles and bubbling red geysers. Its diverse flora and fauna are highly resilient due to the planet's strong gravity, and they are also extremely hostile. Because Taomar's humid atmosphere is so saturated with vapour, many of its life forms have developed aquatic features, despite the absence of liquid water. Xaphods Xaphods are a range of sentient, predatory plant organisms, dwelling in the densest parts of Taomar's jungles. Because they are so difficult to distinguish from regular inanimate plant life, Xaphods are lethally effective hunters, able to spring from hiding and snatch live prey in the blink of an eye. Others are able to emit toxic spores or even fire off poisonous barbs to bring down their victims. Tanarchs Tanarchs are large, slender lizard creatures with two sets of eyes, gills, and narrow, elongated heads. Their legs and tails are extremely powerful, allowing them to run and leap at incredible speeds. Zauroks Zauroks are vicious bat-like creatures with wingspans reaching up to two meters wide. Living in the jungle canopy and hunting in small packs, Zauroks are lethally fast and nimble. Senya Senya is the second planet in the Life Belt, and the smallest inhabited world. Because its orbit is tidally locked with the Sun, Senya's only habitable area is the thin belt of marshland that lies in the twilight between its two faces; one a blistering desert, the other a frozen wasteland. Due to Senya's smaller size and weaker gravity, many of its plants and animals are airborne. Drenn Drenn are blind, floating, non-sentient organisms. Kept aloft by their massive gas-filled sacs, Drenn usually congregate over pools and marshes, where their long, dangling tendrils gently dredge the shallow waters for nutrients. Drenn are mostly unaware of their surroundings; their thin, inflated membranes are easily punctured by tree branches or other such objects, which will quickly cause them to die, and others simply end up drifting too far out into either the desert or the ice fields. Rays NAME are airborne Ray-like creatures with smooth, flat bodies and elongated pectoral fins, which they use to glide leisurely through the air. Their distinctive calls are comparable to whale song, and their iridescent skin constantly shifts and changes hues in the twilight. Evokai Evokai are small, furry mammals with huge eyes and long, striped tails. In Senya's low gravity, they are extremely lightweight and can hop great distances across the marshlands. They are also able to glide when necessary, due to the elastic membranes that stretch between their arms and legs. Osis Osis is the third and final planet in the solar system to harbour life. Osis' creatures are also the most intelligent, having developed a variety of civilisations and technologies unseen in the rest of the solar system, surpassed only by the Arturi. Conclave Races The following races are represented in The Conclave; Osis' central governing body, and thus are considered part of civilised society. Humans Humans are the newest arrivals on Osis, having only appeared within the last few thousand years, but already they have drastically changed society more than any other race. Having founded The Conclave, instituted a common language, and established recorded history, Humans have made vast contributions in unifying the different races. But despite their many achievements, Humans are increasingly being perceived as a 'problem'. Believed to have arrived on Osis entirely by accident via a portal from another world, Humans have swiftly multiplied and expanded their territories without any signs of stopping. Originating from a world of ever-increasing expansion and consumption, Humans have struggled to maintain equilibrium with their environment, causing a growing unrest among the other races. Bastion, the Human's capital city, has a slightly unfavourable reputation, despite its importance in trade and commerce. Otaru Otaru are amphibious, land-based descendants of the great Uthulian sea creatures. Retaining much of their aquatic ancestry, Otaru are equipped with gills, fins, webbed hands and feet, facial tentacles, and deep black eyes. Otaru are sequential hermaphrodites - when they first hatch, they are both male and female, and their skin is a bright salmon-pink colour. Once they reach adolescence, their sex changes to either male or female, and consequently their skin tone darkens into a slick, pearlescent blue. Generally, Otaru are slightly taller and thinner than Humans. Though it has been eons since their primordial ancestors first crawled out from the ocean, Otaru still keep mainly to coastal towns and cities, as they are hesitant to stray too far from the sea. Additionally, Otaru females have to lay their eggs underwater, as it is the only way they will hatch. Most of the Otaru population is concentrated within their capital city Vyssus Mar, which sits inside an enormous coiled seashell on the north shores of Ausaris. Otaru are not technologically advanced, preferring to use simple tools and natural resources in most aspects of their lives. Food is their primary source of trade - fish, shellfish, seaweeds, etc - which they cultivate far more effectively than other species, carefully monitoring to ensure they never over-farm any sea life. Music is another staple of Otarun culture, and many of their instruments use water to create unique sounds. During high tide, various festivals are held at Vyssus Mar which draw in huge crowds from all across the world. Wymirs Wymirs are hunched, feathered humanoids who predate all other civilised races in CONTINENT. Wymirs are renowned for their vivid and colourful plumage, which covers their backs, arms and legs, in stark contrast to their grey, leathery skin. Wymirs also possess claws and talons, and the top parts of their faces taper forward into a hard, pointed overbite, much like a beak. They are slightly shorter in stature than Humans, but are exceptionally agile, and possess the sharpest eyesight of all the known races. Despite their many avian qualities, Wymirs are not able to fly. However, this has not hampered their fondness of heights, which they are utterly fearless of. Inversely, Wymirs often feel vulnerable at ground level, and will never dare to venture underground. ???, their capital, lies nestled in the Valley of the Wymirs - a secluded and enigmatic area stretching beneath the slopes of Mount ???. It is the highest inhabited location on Osis. Reclusive and rarely seen among the civilisations on the ground, Wymirs live a fairly primitive lifestyle, and are content to keep it that way. The males rarely set foot outside their villages, devoting their time to farming, cooking and maintaining the upkeep, whilst the females venture out to hunt and forage. Occasionally Wymirs will trade in small trinkets and jewelleries, some of which incorporate their own feathers, but they show no desire for tools or money. Quen Quen are tall, slender beings uniquely capable of telekinesis and telepathy. Hovering at about seven to eight feet high, Quen appear remarkably tall in comparison to Humans, but physically they are very feeble, with elongated necks and bulbous, rounded heads. Their beige-coloured bodies are very foetal in nature, with small vestigial legs and no arms, and are always concealed beneath long robes. Quen spend their entire lives in perpetual levitation, floating silently from place to place. As they lack any kind of mouth, they communicate solely via telepathy. Despite their physical frailty, the Quen's telekinetic abilities offer them some unique advantages over other species - among them, being able to directly handle Novium crystals and other hazardous materials. Renowned for their placid nature, melodical discourse and keen minds, Quen are fond lovers of serenity and learning, be it astrology, alchemy, history or even politics. Incidentally, their scholars are highly sought after on academic matters both great and small, and their capital city of Quarsis is famous for its unrivalled libraries and museums. Ythari Ythari are small, green bipedal creatures hailing from ???. Their faces are protected by a symmetrical mask of bone, which protrudes from their heads and covers everything except their eyes. Industrious, technological. Able to manage large scale constructions through the use of large mechanical exo-suits. Their capital is the floating city of Zahaeron. Graun Graun are hulking, bestial creatures with heavy builds. Their massive arms help balance them when walking, and their fur colours and patterns differ wildly from one Graun to another. This diversity tends to fade by old age however, as elder Graun fur is usually white or grey. Graun also possess small tails, and a large, singular horn which protrudes from their forehead - the precise shape of each horn is as unique as Human fingerprints. Generally, the Graun are something of a contradiction. Despite their brutish appearance, Graun are largely passive and intelligent beings, sharing a great respect for nature and the elements. Their capital city of Vorheim, which sits within the enormous caverns of the NAME mountain range, is considered a sacred location by many due to its isolated natural beauty. Firm believers in what they call The Long Strife, Graun find deep reward in physical challenges and labours, believing that only through being tested does one become stronger and therefore more worthy of life. This outlook generally puts them at odds with the Quen, whom they consider to be weak and apathetic. Other Races The following races are also found on Osis, but are not represented in The Conclave. Ixari Ixari are a species of diverse, hive-minded insectoids native to Osis' forests. Whilst their size and physical features can vary dramatically, most Ixari possess long antennae, four to six eyes, three pairs of legs, and chitinous exoskeletons. Some subspecies have iridescent wings, others are able to produce valuable silks, and some can even utilise biochemical defences such as acids and glues. Due to their vastly different anatomy, Ixari are incapable of speaking the common tongue - whilst this has more-or-less cut them off from the other civilised races, Ixari are not inherently aggressive or hostile, and have coexisted with the other species in relative peace for millennia. Their capital - a vast subterranean hive referred to as The Underweb - stretches beneath most of Eranel, and even reaches parts of Ausaris. It is also where the Ixari Queen resides. Hish Hish are a primitive race of reptilians that live out in the sun-baked deserts of the Arashi Wastes. Dwelling in crevasses and hovels beneath the dry earth, Hish are a primal, animalistic species splintered into dozens of tribes, many of which clash with one another on a daily basis. As a result, Hish have no major settlements or overarching civilisation to speak of. Whilst relatively humanoid in shape, Hish are covered in millions of tiny scales and commonly walk on all fours. Their pronounced claws make them adept climbers, as well as deadly warriors. Depending on the level of sun exposure, their skin tones can vary between browns, reds and greys. In addition, their jaws open outwards, exposing rows of fangs loaded with a highly toxic venom. Each Hish tribe is typically ruled by a K'vash ("warlord"); an alpha male position, obtained only by killing the previous K'vash. In addition to fighting outsiders, Hish tribes are even known to purge the weak or elderly from their own ranks and cannibalise their remains. Despite their savage nature, some Hish have been known to show signs of higher intelligence, and even on occasion, a limited grasp of the common tongue. Uthulians Uthulians were ancient, gargantuan sea creatures now widely considered to be extinct. Thought to have ruled the oceans during the late Primordium epoch, they were the largest known creatures to have ever lived. Present day Otaru trace their own lineage back to these great leviathans, and their capital city Vyssus Mar is built inside the huge fossilised seashell of a long-dead Uthulian creature. Precise details on Uthulians' appearance and behaviours are largely speculative, due to the age and scarcity of their remains, and only a few individual creatures have been identified so far (namely the Arboranth and the Myrmidon). The exact cause of the Uthulians' extinction is also unknown, but many believe that either the arrival of the Arturi, or the impact from the Novium meteor, ultimately caused their demise. Gehemaurs Gehemaurs are an ancient and diverse species of land behemoths which, much like the Uthulians, originated during Primordium and became one of the dominant species of their time. However, whilst the Uthulians passed into extinction millions of years ago, Gehemaurs are still alive to this day, though their size and numbers have dwindled significantly. Renowned for their vibrant colours, thick hides and valuable tusks, Gehemaurs Arturi The Arturi are a race of antediluvian extraterrestrials known to have visited the solar system some twenty four million years ago. Their arrival on Osis triggered a profound change to the world and its then-primitive inhabitants, and is widely regarded as the single most pivotal event in all of history. For tens of thousands of years, their existence was only alluded to in a few sparse, archaic writings, and was dismissed by most modern day academics. However, this changed completely in YEAR when a team of Novium miners accidentally breached a cavern containing a genuine Arturian artifact - one of their ships. This discovery MAJOR SPOILER (highlight to reveal): The very last revelations of the story are that the Arturi didn't visit the solar system out of benevolence, curiosity or malice - they were actually fleeing from the rogue planet Orphenk, and the evil entity using it to pursue them. Osis was just a stopping point for them to catch their breath, and The Scion was simply one of their ships which they had to abandon in their scramble to escape the obliteration that was coming.